Alzheimer’s Research Event Offers Hope and Help

Community of researchers, professionals, students and others anticipate progress on prevention and treatment

More than seven million Americans, including about 76,000 Connecticut residents, live with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking and behavior, with symptoms progressing to interfere with daily life. Deaths from Alzheimer’s increased 142% between 2000 and 2022, whereas heart disease deaths, the leading cause of death in the US, decreased by 2.1%.

The statistics are disheartening, but on May 21, Sacred Heart University’s West Campus was filled with hope as about 100 people gathered to discuss detection and treatment advances at an event titled “Advancing Connecticut Alzheimer’s Research: From Translation to Treatment.”

There is a great deal of Alzheimer’s research taking place. The Alzheimer’s Association, a global organization dedicated to fighting the disease, has research funding totaling more than $430 million, including approximately $1.2 million for Yale University and the University of Connecticut (UConn) from the association’s Connecticut chapter, which organized the event.

Rui Liu, an assistant professor of health sciences at SHU whose research focuses on aging and neurodegenerative diseases, led the efforts to host the annual research reception at Sacred Heart. Her current research projects include exploring olfaction and musculoskeletal health in older adults and investigating sleep disturbances and dementia risk. Liu serves on the board of the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter. She hoped this event would help spark broader interest in aging research which brought together association donors, volunteers, board members, advocates, community partners, people living with the disease, caregivers and a handful of undergraduates.

“Meeting people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives on Alzheimer’s at a conference has taught me fascinating facts,” said Mercyanvitha Kamireddy, a SHU graduate student studying chemistry. “The research articles from various scholars gave me a comprehensive overview of their work, which inspired me to consider every possible solution for curing the illness. All in all, this event has opened my mind to consider more options toward the disease.”

Alzheimer’s data in depth

Researchers from eight labs at Yale and UConn engaged with attendees via poster presentations. Project topics included:

Regional disparities in cognitive life expectancy

Southern-born and Western-born older adults tend to have fewer years of life without cognitive impairment and more years with dementia compared to those from other regions. Research determined that policy is needed regarding the mitigation of early-life geographic and other risk factors to improve long-term outcomes.

The association between sleep and brain features observed in AD

A study of 270 adults found that sleep architecture, such as the percentage of slow-wave sleep and rapid eye movement, relates to the volume of brain regions and the presence of cerebral microbleeds.

Preserved music perception in Alzheimer’s

Despite cognitive decline, many patients retain the ability to enjoy music. While music therapy benefits are well documented, little is known about AD patients’ unique musicality.

Alzheimer’s research progress and perspective

Christopher Weber, senior director of global science initiatives at the Alzheimer’s Association’s national medical science team, led the main program at SHU. He said diagnosing AD is difficult, like a puzzle, because no single test determines if someone has Alzheimer’s.

Weber helps industry partners and scientists from institutions and the government collaborate on research and findings. “The solution is not going to come from one company, one individual or one organization,” Weber said, adding that there is a great deal of current research into the disease. There were more than 6,000 abstracts submitted for this July’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, a record number, and there are more than 120 therapies in testing.

An Alzheimer’s blood test is big news right now—the first one obtained Food and Drug Administration clearance on May 16. Used for early detection of amyloid plaques associated with AD, the test can now be “integrated into patient care pathways,” Weber said. Coming soon are actionable recommendations for physicians, who’ve been “hesitant to order these tests en masse” without guidelines, he added.

There was a “monumental development” in Alzheimer’s diagnosis last year, Weber said. Revised criteria for diagnosis and staging allows patients to be placed on a continuum. Stages four to six indicate a decline in cognitive function, and earlier stages show impairments and/or biomarkers with little to no impact on daily function. Research interest in early, accurate diagnosis—which has medical, emotional-social and financial benefits—has fueled early-stage treatment trials.

Prevention research is gaining traction, too, and results from the U.S Pointer study, a clinical trial to evaluate lifestyle interventions, are expected soon. “U.S. Pointer is going to be a game changer, because it’s going to help inform these risk reduction strategies we know about but need the data on,” Weber said.

Susan Antkowiak, who has a social work background and leads the U.S. Pointer Rhode Island study location, said the study explores whether lifestyle interventions can target risk factors to help protect function in older adults at increased risk for cognitive decline. It’s the first such study conducted with a large group of Americans—more than 2,000—and 62 countries globally are involved in similar trials.

The May event at SHU wrapped up with a panel featuring Weber, Antkowiak, Yale researcher Dibs Datta and Laurie Boske, a participant in the AHEAD Study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, several philanthropic organizations and the drug company Eisai and is testing whether an investigational treatment can slow or stop AD’s earliest brain changes. Boske, whose mother died from Alzheimer’s, gets a monthly infusion as part of the four-year study. “I’m doing it for Mom, but I’m doing it for me, too—to help find a cure and slow this down,” she said, adding that research updates are empowering.

Antkowiak said she is encouraged by the research and findings. “There are options available to some today, but more tomorrow,” she said. “The word that comes to mind now is ‘hope,’ hope based in science.”